Last year, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was showing some of the barns newly minted 3-year-olds to a friend when he decided to bring out one of his more recent acquisitions, a muscular bay son of Into Mischief out of the American Pharaoh mare All American Dream.
“Is this a 3-year-old?” asked his friend.
Barnes. Coady Photo.
“Nah,” Baffert replied, going on to explain that the 2-year-old was the one who had fetched the second-highest price at the Fasig Tipton Select Sale in Saratoga the previous August.
“Wow,” said his friend. “I wondered why someone would pay $3.2 million for a yearling. Now I see why.”
Said Baffert: “I see a lot of American Pharoah in him, although he’s more muscular. He’s got a lot of raw talent and speed, like Into Mischief. We’ve been high on him since the start.”
This one’s for you, Jimmy Barnes
The colt, unnamed at the time of the sale, was still nameless by the time Baffert assistant Jimmy Barnes told his boss the colt was ready to run, and that he’d better find a name, thus sparking a conversation with owner Amr Zaden.
“It’s hard to find a good name for a horse, and with a [quality] horse, you want to make sure the name fits,” Baffert said. “Amr is pretty good about that – he let me name Muth after a friend of mine. I call Jimmy ‘Barney,’ which sounds like a gelding, and Amr said, ‘Why not name him Barnes?’”
In true Baffert fashion, he didn’t let Barnes in on the plan, and not long after that, he surprised his assistant with a halter bearing the nameplate “Barnes” and told him to put it on the horse.
“On what horse,” asked the mystified Barnes.
“On that Into Mischief,” said Baffert.
“You could tell he was really touched, and really appreciates it,” he went on. “He’s very proud of the horse.”
Barnes wins in debut
As is most everyone associated with him. Five weeks ago, Barnes gave Baffert his first victory at Churchill Downs since the end of his 3-year-suspension by CDI, winning a 5 ½-furlong maiden race in which everything that could go wrong, did. (“And he still won,” said Baffert.)
On Saturday, he is 8-5 to give Baffert yet another Kentucky Derby prospect when he faces four other sophomores going 7 furlongs in the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita.
Once again, Barnes did not have the best of draws, set to leave from post 2 under Juan Hernandez while facing some serious competition, namely from the Mike McCarthy-trained Bullard, who is 2-for-2, and the 4-5 favorite.
Also entered are maiden winners Smooth Cruisein and the Baffert-trained Romanesque, along with the graded stakes-placed McKinzie Street, third in the Bob Hope (G3) behind Bullard.
“This is the time of year when you see a lot of these horses popping up,” said Baffert. “At this point, we’re still trying to figure out what he wants to do – so far, it’s been pedal to the metal. We were hoping for a comfy cozy outside draw so he could take back, but we’ll see what happens. You want to figure out what he wants to do before the first Saturday in May.”
Baffert already has trio of Derby contenders
The San Vicente is not a Derby points race, but should give trainers a good indication whether their newly-turned 3-year-olds can move forward on the Derby trail.
Entering 2025, Baffert has the top three horses on the Derby leaderboard – Citizen Bull, Gaming, and Getaway Car.
For those who bet horse racing …
The picks: 1 Bullard 2 Barnes 3 Romanesque
The field for the $200,000 San Vicente (G2), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 McKinzie Street (Antonio Fresu, Tim Yakteen), 10-1
2 Barnes (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert), 8-5
3 Romanesque (Mike Smith, Bob Baffert), 5-1
4 Smooth Cruisein (Ricardo Gonzalez, Karen Headley), 12-1
5 Bullard (Umberto Rispoli, Mike McCarthy), 4-5